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Hotels.com introduces visual hotel search

The Hotels.com Visualiser, termed as a first for the travel industry, will ask customers to select from a range of images in order to generate hotel suggestions.

- An easy-to-use slider bar to refine searches even further – users can choose to narrow the selection of hotels returned towards the no frills or luxury end, or to make the selection more modern or traditional.

Nigel Pocklington, Managing Director of Hotels.com, says: "We are always looking for new and innovative ways to improve our customer experience and help our users to choose a hotel that perfectly matches their requirements. This is the first time that travellers have been able to make their hotel selection based solely on their visual responses. The speed and functionality of the Visualiser coupled with the vast array of hotel accommodation on Hotels.com means that we are able to make the user experience faster and more efficient than ever before."

Imagini Founder and CEO, Alex Willcock, says: "We're thrilled that Hotels.com is using our VisualDNA technology to further develop its search experience. Together we've created a really great new way to find the perfect hotel."

Related Link: Hotels.com VisualDNA

Smart stuff

TC50: GoPlanit Generates Your Travel Itinerary With One Click Posted: 10 Sep 2008 06:47 PM PDT There are countless travel sites available on the web that detail the best things to do in every major city on the planet. But with so many options, actually booking a trip is a major hassle: attractions may close on seemingly random days, or may require reservations weeks in advance. GoPlanit is a travel site that aims to simplify this process by generating your schedule for you. The site features a database of attractions that includes their operating hours as well as an estimate for how much time each will consume. After specifying a city, users simply click "Plan It!", and the site will present an iCal-esque calendar filled to the brim with activities, taking operating hours and durations into account. Users are free to customize these schedules by deleting or resizing them, and can click "Plan It" again to have the gaps filled with new activities. The calendar also includes links to reservation and ticketing systems when possible, further streamlining the process (part of the company's monetization model relies on fees generated from these affiliates). After planning the trip, the site produces a basic travel guide with information on each activity, which can also be accessed through a mobile iPhone app. It can also generate a photo blog on the fly, tagging each photo with your location (since it knows where you'll be during your trip). Other sites in the travel space that offer some similar functionality include Dave Sifry's OffBeat Guides, which generates travel guides on the fly, and Zicasso. Panel Loic - I like the idea. What's the business model? GoPlanIt - We've got 3 revenue streams. Hyper-targeted advertising since we know interests, where you will be at time and date. Also affiliate programs, any time someone books, we get a portion of the revenue. Third, we're working on whitelabel solutions for some small and medium businesses. CrunchBase Information GoPlanit Information provided by CrunchBase Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it's time for you to find a new Job2.0